These observations form the basis of national safety guidelines for working with powerful radio waves. The safe limits for the public are about five times less than those recommended for workers.

But how do these compare to emissions from mobile phones? Mobile phones work on the lowest power possible. As a result, they don’t emit many radio waves. This is not specifically connected with any health issues, but due to the logistics of cost and efficiency.

The Stewart Report

In 1999, the Government commissioned a group of independent scientists to look into any health threat from mobile phones. In May 2000 the Stewart Report published its findings:

– There is no evidence of adverse health effects caused by radio wave radiation at current national safety limits. But gaps in current knowledge mean mobile phones cannot be classed as ‘safe’ yet

– Radio waves may affect biological cells but this may not necessarily lead to disease or injury

– Children should be especially careful about mobile phones use. Their skulls are still growing, so it is easier for radio waves from a mobile phone to enter their heads. Their cells are also developing and tend to absorb more radiation compared to adults. This is especially important in brain tissue, as the nervous system is very sensitive during development. Children should only use mobiles for short, essential calls

– Mobile phone manufacturers must publish the amount of radio wave energy that each handset transmits to the human body, called the SAR value

– There is no evidence of a risk to the health of people living near to base stations, but emissions should be monitored, especially near schools

– All new base stations should be subject to planning permission

– Drivers should be dissuaded from using either hand-held or hands-free phones whilst on the move

– A further report by the Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation said in 2004 that there is no evidence that mobile phones harm health. But, backing up the Stewart Report, it also argued that more research was needed before there could be absolute certainty about the risk.

Only use your phone when necessary.

DONT:

Don’t buy a phone with an internal aerial, you want the aerial as far away from your head as possible.

Do:

Keep the calls short.

DONT:

Don’t use your phone when the reception is weak, the phone needs more power to communicate with the base station, and so the radiowave emissions are higher.

Do:

Carry the phone away from your body when it is on standby.

DONT:

Don’t buy a phone with a high ‘SAR’ value, this means that it emits more radiation.

Do:

Buy a phone with a long ‘talk time’. It is more efficient, with less powerful emissions.

DONT:

Don’t buy protective gadgets unless they have been independently tested.

The spectrum is divided into different groups according to the frequency of these energy waves. This is measured in Hz, and represents how many waves arrive in a second. The higher the frequency, the more waves per second and the greater the possible danger to health.

Mobile phone frequencies are actually right on the border between radio waves and microwaves, so their emissions are sometimes referred to as microwaves.

Different types of radiation:

All parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are described as ‘radiation’, but not all radiation is the same.

At the top of the scale, ionizing radiation (as in radioactive decay or X-rays) has the ability to alter matter, including human cells and animal cells. It has very high energy which can change a molecule’s structure. This can have serious consequences – ionizing radiation can cause changes in the structure of DNA, leading to mutations and possible cases of cancer.

By contrast radio waves, such as in mobile/cellular phones, are at the other end of the spectrum. They have very low energy output, and do not have the ability to alter matter, so they are classed as non-ionizing radiation.

Suggested Danger:

Radio waves given off by mobiles can heat up body tissue, having damaging effects.

Argument:

Radio waves are not powerful enough to cause heat damage to the body.

Suggested Danger:

Magnetic fields created by mobile phones can affect the way that your body cells work.

Argument:

The magnetic fields are incredibly small, and so unlikely to affect cells in our body.

Suggested Danger:

People who make long mobile phone calls sometimes complain of fatigue, headaches, and loss of concentration.

Argument:

The same results have never been reported in laboratory conditions and may be due to other factors in modern lifestyles.

Suggested Danger:

Mobile phone users are 2.5 times more likely to develop cancer in areas of the brain adjacent to their phone ears.

Argument:

Researchers admit it’s unclear this increase is linked to using mobiles.

Suggested Danger:

The International Agency for Research on Cancer found a link between childhood cancer and power lines. Like mobile phones, power lines also emit radiation.

Argument:

The radiation produced by powerlines is a different kind of radiation, with much more energy than that coming from mobile phones.

Suggested Danger:

Radio frequency waves similar to those in mobile phones altered the gene expression in nematode worms.

Argument:

Worms are not humans, there is no guarantee that our brain cells will behave in the same way.